Adjustable shelf supports

ABSTRACT

A shelf construction and means for attaching the construction to supporting legs. The attaching means comprises a band and an adjusting means for increasing and decreasing the size of the opening defined by the band, a shelf is provided with openings for receiving supporting legs and a plurality of spaced apart engaging fingers are associated with these openings. The attaching bands are adapted to be positioned around these fingers and by adjusting the openings defined by each band, the fingers are engaged and pressed against the supporting legs whereby the shelf will be secured at a desired level with respect to the legs.

United States Patent [1 1 Ettlinger, Jr. et a1.

ADJUSTABLE SHELF SUPPORTS [75] Inventors: Ralph Ettlinger, Jr., Highland Park; Fred P. Strobl, Jr., Park Oct. 16, 1973 Tomaselli 108/50 Maslow 108/ 144 [5 7] ABSTRACT A shelf construction and means for attaching the construction to supporting legs. The attaching means comprises a band and an adjusting means for increasing and decreasing the size of the opening defined by the band, a shelf is provided with openings for receiving supporting legs and a plurality of spaced apart engaging fingers are associated with these openings. The attaching bands are adapted to be positioned around these fingers and by adjusting the openings defined by each band, the fingers are engaged and pressed against the supporting legs whereby the shelf will be secured at a desired level with respect to the legs.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 1 ADJUSTABLE SHELF SUPPORTS This invention relates to a shelf construction. In particular, the invention is concerned with shelves which are attached to supporting legs with the attaching means being designed so that the position of a shelf with respect to the legs can be readily adjusted.

The invention will be specifically described with respect to shelves utilized in cart constructions. As is well-known, carts having shelves for supporting variousarticles are widely used, for example, carts are used in hospital operations to simplify movement of food, medical supplies, etc., from room to room. As an additional example, carts are used in restaurant operations for purposes of carrying dishes.

Although reference will be made to the utilization of the invention in carts having shelves, various other applications of the invention will be obvious. Similarly, the use of the term shelf is intended as a broad term covering any structure which defines a holding surface, and which is adapted for attachment to a vertical support. A flat shelf is, of course intended; however, shelves having pockets, wells, or other depressions designed for holding particular types of articles, liquids, or other means are contemplated.

A basic feature of the instant invention relates to the ability of shelves to be positioned at different levels relative to supporting leg structures. A general object of the invention thus involves the provision of a shelf construction which is adapted to one or more supporting legs, and which can be readily adjusted in terms of the position of the shelf construction on the supporting legor legs. i i

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide a shelf construction which can be very economically manufactured, which can be assembled to a supporting leg arrangement in a very simple manner, and which can be adjusted relative to the supporting structure with a minimum of effort.

These and other objects of this invention will appear hereinafter and for purposes of illustration, but not of limitation, specific embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shelf construction which includes the features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view illustrating the designJof the shelf construction and the associated means for securing a shelf construction with respect to the associated legs;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the structure shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the structure shown in FIG. 4 with the attaching means shown out of attaching position; and,

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional 'view of the structure shown in FIG. 2, particularly ill'ustrati'ngthe cross section of the attaching. band utilized in the invention.

The subjectmatter'of the invention generallyrelates to a shelf construction mounted on one or more supporting legs. In the form of the invention to be de-' scribed, one or more shelves 'is provided with openings at each corner, and these shelves are associated with supporting legs with casters being attached to the legs whereby a cart arrangement is provided; The attaching means of the invention are, however, useful in connection with other shelf arrangements for example shelves attached to a single leg in cantilever fashion, or with the leg at the center of the shelf.

The attaching means of the invention comprises a band having adjustment means associated therewith whereby the opening defined within the confines of the band can be increased or decreased. The shelf structure is provided with a plurality of spaced apart fingers which are associated with the opening in the shelf which receives a supporting leg. These fingersare dimensioned so that the band can be fit around the fingers. When the opening defined within the band is decreased in size, this operates to tighten the band around the fingers which in turn results in pressing of the fingers against a supporting leg. This secures the shelf in a given position with respect to a supporting leg, and repositioning can be easily accomplished through operation of the band adjusting means.

In the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a cart construction 10 having four supporting legs 12 and a pair of transversely extending shelves 14. Each of the supporting legs carries a caster 16 whereby the assembly provides an easily movable cart for carrying a variety of goods. As indicated, the configuration of the shelves 14 can vary considerably, depending upon the type of goods to be supported by the shelves.

As shown in FIGS. 2 through 5, the shelves 14 define vertically extending openings at their corners for receiving the legs 12. The openings are dimensioned to slightly exceed the diameter of the legs 12 whereby the shelves are freely slideable relative to the legs when not secured to the legs by the attaching means of the invention.

The attaching means comprise a metal band 18 having an outwardly extending tab 20 formed at one end. A second tab 22 is formed in spaced relationship to the tab 20, this second tab comprising an outwardly extending crease formed in the band.

Beyond the crease 22, the band includes an additional portion 24 which terminates in the opposite end 26 of the band (FIG. 3). This additional band portion isdimensioned so that it will overlap theposition of the tab 20'even when the banddefines the maximum opening within the confines of the band.

The tab portion 20 defines'an opening 28 and an opening 30 is defined by the tab portion 22. A bolt 32 is passed through these openings whereby the bolt crosses the gap defined between the tab portions. A nut 34 is threaded onto the end of the bolt, and the tab 20 defines bent upper and lower portions 36 which confine the nut 34 against rotation. It will be appreciated that with this arrangement, the bolt 32 operates to draw the tab portions closer together or permits the spreading apart of the tab portions.

The shelf 14 includes a plurality of integrally formed finger members 38. Slots 40 are cut between adjacent finger members whereby these members can be drawn closer to each other.

When unrestrained, the fingers 38 define an opening corresponding with theopening in the shelf whereby the fingers do not restrict movement of the shelf for adjustment to different positions with respect to associated legs.

The shelf is preferably molded from resilient plastic material, for example, polypropylene. The attaching bands 18, when unrestrained by the action of bolts 32, define an opening such that the bands can be easily fit around the exterior surfaces defined by the fingers 38. In this position, tightening of the band by means of the bolt 32, will result in the application of pressure to the fingers 38. As the fingers draw together, pressure is applied thereby to the adjacent legs 12 for securing the shelves to the legs. A surprising amount of force can be developed as the band is tightened around the fingers whereby completely secure attachment of the shelves is accomplished even where heavy loads are to be placed on the shelves.

In addition to the completely secure mounting of the shelves which is provided by the described attaching means, adjustment of the shelves is surprisingly easy. By the use of a screwdriver, each attaching means associated with a shelf can be quickly loosened, and in this connection, the bands are loosened only to the extent that the pressure applied by the fingers to the legs is relieved. The bands can be kept sufficiently tight with respect to the fingers so that they will not drop off even though the shelves are easily movable up and down. When the desired re-positioning of the shelves is accomplished, the screwdriver is again utilized to tighten the bands, again an extremely simple operation.

The arrangements of this invention greatly improve the versatility of cart constructions and other mechanisms carrying one or more shelves. The height of the shelves can be readily changed depending upon changes in contemplated use of the constructions. The ability to change spacing between shelves is also quite important whenever applications are encountered which require carrying of articles of different heights. The fact that the shelves, legs, and attaching means are all extremely simple in construction and can, therefore, all be readily manufactured also represents a highly desirable feature of the invention.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the above described construction which provide the characteristics of the invention without departing from the spirit thereof, particularly as defined in the following claims.

That which is claimed is:

1. In a shelf construction including a top shelf, a plurality of supporting legs for said top shelf, and at least one second shelf positioned below said top shelf, each shelf comprising a top wall and integrally formed downwardly extending side walls, the improvement comprising means for attaching the shelves to the supporting legs, said attaching means each comprising a band, means for adjusting the band for increasing and decreasing the size of the opening defined by the band, a plurality of openings defined by the shelves, said openings each being dimensioned to receive one of said legs, and said shelf openings including an upper end exposed at the top of the shelves, and a downwardly extending wall portion, vertically extending, spaced-apart fingers positioned around each shelf opening, said fingers comprising integrally formed downwardly directed extensions of said wall portion, and said fingers being substantially co-extensive with said side walls, each shelf and its associated walls and fingers comprising an integrally molded, plastic structure, each band opening being dimensioned whereby the band fits around said fingers, said means for adjusting the band permitting tightening of the band against said fingers, and consequent pressing of the fingers against said legs to thereby secure the shelves relative to the legs.

2. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein said fingers define a cylindrical configuration, and wherein said band encircles the fingers.

3. A construction in accordance with claim 2 wherein said band comprises a main body portion, outwardly extending tabs formed in said main body portion, said tabs being positioned in spaced relationship whereby a gap is defined therebetween, and means for attaching an adjusting member to said tabs whereby operation of the adjusting member serves to increase and decrease the size of the band opening.

4. A construction in accordance with claim 3 wherein said adjusting means comprises a bolt and nut, and openings defined by said tabs through which said bolt extends.

5. A construction in accordance with claim 3 including an additional band portion extending across said gap whereby said band completely encircles said fingers.

6. A construction in accordance in accordance with claim 5 wherein one of said tabs is formed by bending one end of said main body portion outwardly, the other tab comprising an outwardly extending creased portion of said main body portion, said additional band portion comprising an integrally formed piece of said band extending from said creased portion into overlapping position relative to said one tab. 

1. In a shelf construction including a top shelf, a plurality of supporting legs for said top shelf, and at least one second shelf positioned below said top shelf, each shelf comprising a top wall and integrally formed downwardly extending side walls, the improvement comprising means for attaching the shelves to the supporting legs, said attaching means each comprising a band, means for adjusting the band for increasing and decreasing the size of the opening defined by the band, a plurality of openings defined by the shelves, said openings each being dimensioned to receive one of said legs, and said shelf openings including an upper end exposed at the top of the shelves, and a downwardly extending wall portion, vertically extending, spaced-apart fingers positioned around each shelf opening, said fingers comprising integrally formed downwardly directed extensions of said wall portion, and said fingers being substantially coextensive with said side walls, each shelf and its associated walls and fingers comprising an integrally molded, plastic structure, each band opening being dimensioned whereby the band fits around said fingers, said means for adjusting the band permitting tightening of the band against said fingers, and consequent pressing of the fingers against said legs to thereby secure the shelves relative to the legs.
 2. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein said fingers define a cylindrical configuration, and wherein said band encircles the fingers.
 3. A construction in accordance with claim 2 wherein said band comprises a main body portion, outwardly extending tabs formed in said main body portion, said tabs being positioned in spaced relationship whereby a gap is defined therebetween, and means for attaching an adjusting member to said tabs whereby operation of the adjusting member serves to increase and decrease the size of the band opening.
 4. A construction in accordance with claim 3 wherein said adjusting means comprises a bolt and nut, and openings defined by said tabs through which said bolt extends.
 5. A construction in accordance with claim 3 including an additional band portion extending across said gap whereby said band completely encircles said fingers.
 6. A construction in accordance with claim 5 wherein one of said tabs is formed by bending one end of said main body portion outwardly, the other tab comprising an outwardly extending creased portion of said main body portion, said additional band portion comprising an integrally formed piece of said band extending from said creased portion into overlapping position relative to said one tab. 